Where was Harry Potter Filmed?

Over the course of the eight Harry Potter movies, filmmakers used a combination of sets and on-site location filming to recreate the magic of the wizarding world that many of us dreamed about as children. Over 50 different Harry Potter filming locations throughout the UK and Ireland came together to bring this magic to reality.

This posts covers each of the Harry Potter filming locations featured in the magical movie series.

Where was Harry Potter filmed in London?

London boasts the most Harry Potter filming locations out of any other in the UK. These 25 Harry Potter London sites are featured in the Harry Potter films.

London Zoo

Our first taste of magic in the Harry Potter films takes place at the London Zoo. To celebrate Dudley’s 11th birthday, the Dursleys take him to the zoo for a day of fun. Unfortunately for Dudley (or really fortunately), that day of fun ends with him trapped in a snake tank when Harry accidentally uses magic to set the snake free and leave his cousin in the habitat instead.

Leadenhall Market

This East London covered market appears in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as the entrance to Diagon Alley. As Harry and Hagrid arrive in London, you can see the pair walking under the red arches that characterize Leadenhall Market. They make their way through their market and to what today is Glass House Opticians, a bright blue shop nestled in the market. During filming of the movie this shop was vacant so filmmakers painted it black to use it as the front of the Leaky Cauldron.

Borough Market

Londoners know Borough Market as a place to eat a lot of delicious food, but in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this food market stood in as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.

After a haphazard ride on the Knight Bus, Harry arrives to the Leaky Cauldron. In reality, this Harry Potter filming location today is Tacos El Pastor (while filming the real shop was actually a flower shop). Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, greets Harry and guides him inside the pub.

The Market Porter

Just a few shops down from the Borough Market location used as the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, this historic pub actually provided the interior shots for the Leaky Cauldron during the filming of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Australia House

The ornate and luxurious entrance hall of Australia House also doubled as Gringotts during the filming of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In the film, Hagrid guides Harry through the desks of Goblin in order to access his parents’ vault in the depths of the wizard bank.

Unfortunately this Harry Potter filming location is not open to the public, though you can visit the exact replica of the Australia House lobby that filmmakers recreated for the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Leavesden.

St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel

Though sitting right next door to the real King Cross, the filmmakers decided to feature the elaborate red exterior of St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel as the exterior of Kings Cross during the making of the Harry Potter films. Used as a Harry Potter filming location multiple times throughout the series, one of the most memorable scenes includes when Harry and Ron start to fly Mr. Weasleys magical car up into the air and over this historic hotel.

Kings Cross

While St. Pancras stood in as the exterior of Kings Cross, the interior of the Kings Cross train station can be seen throughout the different films as the Harry Potter filming location for Platform 9 ¾. Unfortunately, platforms 9 and 10 don’t actually share a platform at this station known worldwide for the fact that the Hogwarts Express platform exists between platforms 9 and 10. Instead, the filmmakers used the barrier between platforms 4 and 5 as the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ in the Harry Potter movies.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

This Harry Potter site appears in Prisoner of Azkaban as the stairwell to the divination tower within Hogwarts. When Harry and the other Hogwarts students are climbing or coming down from Professor Trelawney’s class, you can see the spiral staircase and black and white marble flooring that marks the Dean’s Staircase in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Harrow School

“It’s Wingardium Levi-O-sa, not Levio-sA.” We all know that forever quoted phrase from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This memorable Charms class scene took place at a historic boy’s school on the outskirts of London called Harrow School. The exact Harry Potter filming location at Harrow School is at the Fourth Form Room, a classroom that boasts over 400 years of classes.

Claremont Square

Claremont Square provided the exterior for the filming of the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix in both Order of Phoenix and Deathly Hallows Part 1. The ancestral family home of the Black Family at 12 Grimmauld Place magically appears between numbers 20 and 21 Claremont Square in both of the films. To us Muggles, though, it hides under a Fidelius Charm.

Scotland Place

The corner of Scotland Place where the street meets Whitehall Place marks the Harry Potter filming location for the guest entrance to the British Ministry of Magic. For the purposes of filming, set designers brought in one of the iconic red telephone booths to sit on this corner as the official guest entrance. However, this phone booth was just a prop and filmmakers removed it after filming.

Horse Guard Avenue

A short distance from the guest entrance to the Ministry of Magic you’ll find the staff entrance to the Ministry of Magic. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Harry, Ron and Hermione use polyjuice potion to turn into ministry workers and then flush themselves down a public toilet that stood at the junction where Horse Guards Avenue meets with Whitehall Gardens. Like the phone booth for the guest entrance, the public toilet was also a set prop that filmmakers removed from this Harry Potter filming location once the scene wrapped.

Westminster Tube Station

On the way to Harry’s disciplinary hearing at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, he and Mr. Weasley take the tube to get to and from the hearing since Harry cannot travel by magical means. At one point, filmmakers show Mr. Weasley struggling to get through the entrance barrier in a tube station. This scene was actually shot at a real tube station – the Westminster Tube Station.

City Hall London

Towards the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Death Eaters take to the city of London to kidnap Mr. Ollivander from his wand shop at Diagon Alley. The scene opens with fearful muggles staring out the windows of London’s City Hall as a dark ominous storm appears of the city.

Trafalgar Square

During the Death Eaters’ storm on London in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, they zoom over Trafalgar Square on their way to Diagon Alley to kidnap Mr. Ollivander from his wand shop in Diagon Alley. Trafalgar Square also boasts a special connection to the films as many of the later film premieres took over the square.

12 Great Newport Street

After passing by City Hall London and Trafalgar Square, the Death Eaters bust through 12 Great Newport Street to make their way into Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Fenrir Greyback takes Ollivander from his wand shop in Diagon Alley and sets back off again with the other Death Eaters.

Millennium Bridge

After kidnapping Mr. Ollivander from Diagon Alley, the Death Eaters celebrate their victory by destroying Millennium Bridge in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. This iconic pedestrian bridge connects the north and south banks of the Thames for pedestrians looking to cross near St. Pauls Cathedral and the Tate Modern.

Hermione Granger’s House

Located in the northern London neighborhood of Heathgate stand the Harry Potter filming location for Hermione Granger’s childhood home. Featured at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Hermione exits the house after wiping her parents’ minds of memories of her as she sets out on the dangerous year ahead of her while she hunts for horcruxes with Harry and Ron.

Piccadilly Circus

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry, Ron and Hermione have to make a quick escape from Bill and Fleur’s wedding when its crashed by Death Eaters. Hermione grabs them and the trio apparate to the first place she can think of – Piccadilly Circus and Shaftesbury Avenue. They land right smack dab in the middle of this bustling central London hub right in front of the Gap.

Shaftesbury Avenue

After escaping from Bill and Fleur’s Death Eater-crashed wedding, Harry, Ron and Hermione walk up Shaftesbury Avenue as they try to figure out a game plan of where to hide out now that they are officially being hunted by Voldemort’s followers.

Canary Wharf

At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, members of The Order guard Harry on a night time ride through London to get to the Headquarters of the Order of Phoenix. The first views of London show Canary Wharf in the background as they head over the Thames.

Tower Bridge

In their nighttime ride to get to Harry to the Headquarters for the Order of Phoenix in the fifth movie, members of The Order guide him over the city of London and pass by the iconic London landmark of Tower Bridge along the way.

HMS Belfast

Once they’ve flown past Canary Wharf and Tower Bridge, members of The Order of Phoenix guide Harry over the historic HMS Belfast. This World War II ship appears in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.

Blackfriars Bridge

The uniquely designed Blackfriars Bridge shows up in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix as members of The Order guide Harry to Headquarters on broomsticks. Once they pass over Canary Wharf, Tower and Bridge and HMS Belfast, they fly under this red and white bridge while cruising over the Thames.

Palace of Westminster

The Order of Phoenix’s nighttime sequence along the Thames ends with a glimpse of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster before they officially arrive at their destination of 12 Grimmauld Place. In Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, they guide Harry from 4 Privet Drive to headquarters after flying over the Thames.

Where was Harry Potter filmed in England?

Many different places all over England appeared as Harry Potter filming locations during the creation of the movie series.

Alnwick Castle

Alnwick Castle appears several times as a Harry Potter filming location in the first two films. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first years learn how to ride broomsticks for the very first time in the main courtyard at Alnwick Castle. Oliver Wood also teaches Harry to play Quidditch in the very same spot.

Other sites at Alnwick Castle were featured in the films. When Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow in Chamber of Secrets, you can see the outline of Alnwick Castle in the background. In the first film, Harry, Ron and Hermione run through the entrance of Hogwarts (really the Lion’s Gate at Alnwick Castle) and run down to Hagrid’s Cabin (a different filming location) to question him about the hiding of the sorcerer’s stone.

For more information on visiting Alnwick Castle and how to have the ultimate Harry Potter experience there, read more in this post.

Bodleian Library at Oxford University

Bodleian Library at Oxford University provides the setting for two Harry Potter filming locations. The Divinity School appears throughout the series as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it also doubles as a dance studio for Professor McGonagall to teach the Gryffindor House how to dance in preparation for the Yule Ball. The second Harry Potter site at Bodleian Library is Duke Humfrey’s Library, which appears as the Restricted Section of the Library in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

For more information on the scenes filmed in Bodleian, how to visit and other Harry Potter locations in Oxford, read this Harry Potter Guide to Oxford.

Christ Church College at Oxford University

Christ Church College lended its halls as a Harry Potter filming location in the first couple of films of the series. In Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, the Bodley Tower Staircase serves as the Hogwarts Grand Staircase that leads to the Great Hall. It’s here that McGonagall greets the first years ahead of their house sorting in the first movie and in the second movie where Filch greets Harry and Ron after they crashed Mr. Weasley’s car into the Whomping Willow.

The other Harry Potter filming location at Christ Church College is the Cloisters. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry learns from a trophy case that his father also played as seeker during his time at Hogwarts.

For more information on the scenes filmed at Christ Church College, how to visit and other Harry Potter locations in Oxford, read this Harry Potter Guide to Oxford.

New College at Oxford University

For the filming of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, many on-location scenes for Hogwarts were shot at New College in Oxford University. The Cloisters appeared as the halls of Hogwarts during multiple scenes throughout that film. Additionally, the Cloisters Courtyard saw the scene where Mad Eye Moody turned Draco Mafloy into a ferret.

For more information on the scenes filmed at New College, how to visit and other Harry Potter locations in Oxford, read this Harry Potter Guide to Oxford.

Lacock Village

The quaint medieval village of Lacock Village saw itself featured as a filming location in multiple scenes from Harry Potter. In the first film, Lord Voldemort enters the exterior of one of the Lacock Village houses on his way to murder Harry’s parents. The village also appears again in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as the village of Budleigh Babberton and one of the historic homes in the village serves as the house where Horace Slughorn hides out.

Lacock Abbey

Located on the outskirts of the village of Lacock, this historic former abbey provided the backdrop for many sites within Hogwarts throughout the filming of the Harry Potter series. More recently it also appeared in Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald.

The ancient walls of the cloisters double as the halls of Hogwarts in Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Half Blood Prince and Crimes of Grindelwald. Different areas of Lacock Abbey have also doubled as Snape’s Classroom, Quirrell’s Classroom, Study Hall and the room that housed the infamous Mirror of Erised.

Durham Cathedral

During the making of the first two Harry Potter films, Durham Cathedral stood in as one of the locations used to bring the magic of Hogwarts to life. The Cloister hallways here feature many times through the first two films as the halls of Hogwarts.

The Cloister Courtyard marks the Harry Potter site where Ron accidentally cursed himself to eat slugs in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Additionally, the Chapel House just off the Cloisters set the stage for Professor McGonagall’s classroom in the first two films.

Gloucester Cathedral

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir Beware. That’s right, the infamous scenes where Hogwarts learns that the Chamber has been opened in the second movie was filmed at Gloucester Cathedral in Western England. This historic cathedral and its cloisters appeared many times throughout the Harry Potter films as the halls of Hogwarts.

Everything you need to know about Harry Potter filming locations at Gloucester Cathedral and five other ways the Gloucester area inspired the Harry Potter series can be found in this Harry Potter Guide to Gloucester.

York Train Station

This nondescript train station in the historic town of York actually appeared as a Harry Potter filming location in a few of the films throughout the series. The train station played the part of another train station – Kings Cross. In the first Harry Potter movie, Hagrid and Harry walk over the main bridge that connects the front of the station to the

While York Train Station is the only filming location in York, England, there’s plenty of other ways to have a Harry Potter trip to York. To find out more ways to have a Harry Potter trip to York, check out this post.

Black Park

The Harry Potter filming location of Black Park brought to life the creepy Forbidden Forest that sits on the edge of the Hogwarts Grounds. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Malfoy follow Hagrid into these dark woods to serve their detention in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Filmmakers also planted Hagrid’s Hut here during the filming of the first two films.

Virginia Water

Located about an hour outside of London, the Lake at Virginia Water appeared as the Black Lake in a few of the Harry Potter movies. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry rides the hippogriff Buckbeak over this beautiful water and lands on the bank before returning to class. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry stands once again on these banks as Hermione attempts to relay a message from a very sulky Ron ahead of the first Triwizard Tournament task.

Goathland Station

Goathland Station boasts the title of the final Harry Potter filming location to appear in the very first film. While the Hogwarts students board the train to depart after a long school year, Harry and Hagrid say goodbye on the platform of Hogsmeade Station (really Goathland Station). It’s here that Hagrid gives Harry a photo album of his parents as a gift in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

12 Picket Post Close

While filmmakers eventually built a set for No. 4 Privet Drive, the original location that appears in the first Harry Potter film is a real house! Located about an hour south of London stands a seemingly normal English street that once featured as the infamous Privet Drive in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Seven Sisters

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry, the Weasleys and Hermione take a portkey to travel to the Quidditch World Cup at the beginning of the film. When they arrive, you can see the stunning white cliffs known as the Seven Sisters in the background as they walk towards the campsite.

Malham Cove

Harry and Hermione camp at many different locations during their horcrux hunt in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but one of the most distinct sites they stay at is Malham Cove. This Harry Potter filming location sits atop a uniquely carved limestone cliff that was carved by a glacier from the Ice Age.

You too can have your own Harry Potter Walk at the beautiful natural beauty of Malham Cove. Find out more about this Harry Potter filming location and how to visit here.

Forest of Dean

Harry finds the Sword of Gryffindor at the bottom of a frozen pond in the middle of the Forest of Dean in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. This Harry Potter filming location in Western England marks the site where Ron destroys the amulet horcrux and where he reunites with Harry and Hermione after weeks apart.

Lavenham

The Tudor village of Lavenham doubles as Godric Hollow during the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. This historic little hamlet serves as the screen backdrop for the former home of the Dumbledores, Potters, Bathilda Bagshot and Godric Gryffindor. You can see the house that marks Harry Potter’s birthplace in the film at Lavenham.

Ashridge Wood

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys meet Amos and Cedric Diggory in a wooded area before setting off to the portkey that will take them to the Quidditch World Cup. The Harry Potter filming used for this wooded area is Ashridge Woods in Berkshire, England.

Where was Harry Potter filmed in Wales?

Freshwater West

For filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, set designers built a real-life Shell Cottage made of shells and other beach scraps at the remote Welsh beach of Freshwater West. Home to Bill and Fleur, the beach that the cottage stands on plays host to one of the saddest deaths of the series – Dobby.

The movie-made Shell Cottage was removed once filming at this Harry Potter filming location wrapped, however fans have recreated a shrine to the beloved house elf in the sand dunes of the beach.

Where was Harry Potter filmed in Scotland?

As the book and film site for Hogwarts, filmmakers capitalized on the magic, mysticism and beauty of the Scottish Highlands during the filming of the Harry Potter series. These 11 Harry Potter filming locations in Scotland appeared many times throughout the eight movies.

Jacobite Steam Train

One of the most famous Harry Potter filming locations in the UK, the Jacobite Express steams through the Scottish Highland from Fort William to Mallaig. Not only did filmmakers get shots of the train following its route, but the train itself was used to capture beautiful shots of the Scottish scenery to be used as background shots throughout the Harry Potter films.

Glencoe

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the filmmakers moved many of the Hogwarts grounds shots from England to the Scottish Highlands. In particular, the Harry Potter filming location they used was the historic and naturally stunning area of Glencoe.

Here, filmmakers constructed Hagrid’s Hut, the wooden Hogwarts Bridge and the stone circle where Hermione’s epic punch of Malfoy takes place in the third film. Unfortunately filmmakers also removed all of these sets once filming of the third movie wrapped.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron borrow Mr. Weasley’s flying car to get to Hogwarts. In their journey to find the Hogwarts Express, they cruise over the Glenfinnan Viaduct where the Hogwarts Express appears charging behind them. This architecturally impressive structure also appears many other times throughout the filming of the Harry Potter movies,

Loch Shiel

This beautiful loch surrounded by lush green mountains marks the location of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Looking out in the distance from Loch Shiel, filmmakers digitally imposed the school on the right hand bank of this mystical body of water. It also stands directly across from the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Steall Falls and Glen Nevis

One way or another, Steall Falls and Glen Nevis have provided the backdrop for the Hogwarts Quidditch Stadium during the filming of the Harry Potter movies. The exact location of the stadium varies throughout the series, sometimes appearing at the base of Glen Nevis and other times in front of Steall Falls. Steall Falls can also be seen in the backdrop of the first Triwizard Task in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Loch Arkaig

Loch Arkaig is used many times throughout the films to showcase beautiful shots of the Black Lake from Hogwarts. In Deathly Hallows Part 1, the island that Dumbledore’s Grave sites on is digitally imposed onto Loch Arkaig. Additionally, Loch Arkaig appears in the final scene of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when Harry, Ron and Hermione discuss their plans for the future and a beautiful sunset dips down over Loch Arkaig and Hogwarts in the background.

Loch Etive and Glen Etive

Loch Etive and Glen Etive appear in both Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows Part 2 as a Harry Potter filming location. In the fourth movie, Harry flies over Loch Etive as he tries to escape the dragon in the first Triwizard Tournament Task. In the final movie, Harry, Ron and Hermione crash land here after jumping off a different dragon and into Loch Etive.

Rannoch Moor

In the middle of a haunted and eerie looking bog, naive Death Eaters board the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I in search of Undesirable Number 1 (Harry Potter). This remote bog is known as Rannoch Moor and sits in the middle of the Scottish Highlands.

Loch Eilt

At the very end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Voldemort travels to an island in the middle of a Scottish loch to break open Dumbledore’s Grave and steal the Elder Wand. The island that he travels to is Eilean na Moine in the middle of Loch Eilt. For the final cut in the movie, filmmakers digitally imposed Loch Eilt in the more picturesque Loch Arkaig.

Black Rock Gorge

As Harry escapes the dragon in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire, he flies over Black Rock Gorge in Northern Scotland. This Harry Potter filming location exists less than 20 miles from the Highland city of Inverness.

Loch Morag

The final loch on this list does not appear with any scenes in particular. Filmmakers introduced Loch Morag into the films for background scenery shots in between scenes during the creation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Where was Harry Potter filmed in Ireland?

Only one site in Ireland appeared as a Harry Potter filming location during the making of the world-famous movie series.

Cliffs of Moher

The creepy cliffs that Harry and Dumbledore travel to in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince really are the famous Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. This Harry Potter filming location in Ireland appears towards the end of the movie when Harry and Dumbledore go to retrieve what they think is another one of Voldemort’s horcruxes.

Warner Brothers Studio Leavesden

For much of the making of Harry Potter, filmmakers created a number of sets that you see in the films from scratch at the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden. Most of the main Hogwarts rooms that appear many times throughout the eight films were actually sets that were created for the films. These include the Great Hall of Hogwarts, Gryffindor Common Room, Harry’s dormitory, Dumbledore’s Office and the interior of Hagrid’s Hut.

They also created a number of other non-Hogwarts sets to use as Harry Potter filming locations including the inside of the Ministry of Magic, the Burrow, Platform 9 ¾, the Knight Bus and Gringotts.

A visit to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Leavesden is a must for any Harry Potter fan visiting London. To learn more about the Harry Potter filming locations at Warner Brother Studios and tips for making the most of the magic that the studio tour has to offer, check out this guide here.